


Prince of Dark

by Guilty_Witch



Series: Royal Sins [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Friendship/Love, Kid!Pitch Black, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2013-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-21 20:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guilty_Witch/pseuds/Guilty_Witch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack finds Pitch years after his banishment and accidentally turns him into a kid! Pitch is dragged along by Jack and learns what is means to have a friend, only friendship may turn into something more... When he finds out the only way to turn back to normal is to grow up he realizes he may like Jack more than he thinks, only Jack doesn't feel attracted to this form!<br/>Will Pitch be stuck as a child forever? Or will Jack eventually submit to his feelings?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An unexpected visit

**Author's Note:**

> Pic I drew that started all of this--> http://x3kittymuffinx3.deviantart.com/#/d5ot575
> 
> **Now you can visit Kid!Pitch on tumblr! Go bug him! http://kid-pitch-black.tumblr.com/

It had been years since Jack had last seen Pitch. Their epic battle over the children of the earth had ended with the belief in Jack Frost growing. The Nightmare King had been vanquished, and the winter spirit had gotten what he wanted: he could be seen!

 

He visited Burgess often in the winter time, bringing with him snow days and many laughs as he played with the children. As the years went by, some of the kids stopped believing; but they passed down their beliefs to the younger ones. The never ending cycle seemed to confirm Jack’s permanent place as one of the rightful Guardians. Jamie had grown as well, he was turning eighteen pretty soon if Jack remembered correctly. But the kid never showed signs of losing sight of him, so he paid extra attention to Jamie sometimes.

 

Just because Pitch hadn’t been seen for years now though didn’t mean that fear ever stopped. Nightmare fearlings still wandered the night, just a few stragglers that were wiped out just as soon as they came. This troubled Jack; the lonely spirit wasn’t gone for good, he knew. This gnawed at him long enough that he sometimes sat down and thought about it for hours on end.

 

He was doing just that one night when Sandy appeared beside him, watching as the dream sand waved by and spread sweet dreams to the children. Jack grinned at the little man, “Hey Sandy!”

 

Giving a small wave, the Guardian sat down on a yellow cloud that formed just in time; he was floating at eye-level with Jack. They sat like that for a while on top a roof, just playing with sand and watching stars. Finally the Sandman yawned and stretched, blinking at Jack as if he wanted to say something but then shook the thought away. He patted him on the shoulder before flying away on a manta ray fish.

 

Jack idly wondered what that was about before hopping to his feet himself. He rubbed his hands together, preparing to leave a blanket of snow in his wake so that when the kids woke up they’d be delighted to see their own personal winter wonderland. But something caught his eye before he could make another move; it was a familiar shadow fearling. The creature galloped towards him, as if charging. Swiftly jumping, he willed the wind to carry him up. The fearling growled at him, but didn’t pursue. Instead it continued to run away, towards the woods.

 

Jack being the curious spirited kid he was, decided to follow quickly after it.

 

He was right behind it; the horse raced him all the way back to an open clearing in the woods. Jack slowed down when the thing disappeared; he looked around cautiously. They were by the lake, the place where they had last seen Pitch be dragged down under his broken bed and disappear.

 

He landed lightly on the ground, taking a few steps as he looked around.

 

“Is anyone there?” He called, gripping his staff just in case.

 

He got no answer, nothing but silence and darkness. He glanced down to see where the old bed frame had used to be and saw the ground cracked and thin. The Guardian brought the bottom of his staff down against it hard. After a few more tries of hitting the dirt and cracks he finally managed to cause the ground to tremble against itself and collapse; revealing a tunnel that led down to the darkness. Taking a deep breath, Jack jumped in—he was reckless before and he was reckless again. That wondering for the other being drove him to dare enter the liar once more without a solid purpose.

 

The fall was much easier this time; he was familiar with the tunnels due to previous experience and following a certain bunny around. The boy landed on his feet gracefully, taking in his surroundings slowly. It was just as he had left them last time. Shadows looming, cages—now without a purpose—hanging ominously, and many staircases. He decided to call out again, “Hello? Anyone down here? Still alive Pitch?”

 

A low rumble echoed throughout the caves, Jack took a few more steps but realized a quiet voice was speaking. “Oh do shut up, _Jack Frost_.”

 

Tilting his head, the winter sprite looked around. He couldn’t tell where the voice came from, but he kept listening anyways.

 

“You talk too loudly,” as if to make his point the Nightmare King strolled out of a corner of black, inky shadows rubbing his temple as if he had a migraine.

 

“There you are!” Jack chirped, swinging his staff around. “I followed one of those things down here.”

 

“I noticed.” Pitch replied flatly, glaring at him pointedly.

 

After an awkward silence that filled the area, the tall man finally sighed. “What do you want, Jack?”

 

The boy shrugged. “I dunno. I was bored.”

 

Sniffing indignantly the Boogeyman snapped, “Then it’d be best you left then. There is no fun here, there is only the remains of broken fear here.”

 

“C’mon Pitch, don’t be such a downer.” Jack replied playfully, observing the swinging cages more closely.

 

“Don’t tell me what to do you miserable whelp,” he snapped, “Because of you Guardians I am no longer believed in once again and my kingdom of fear is nearly gone!”

 

“I like to think the cup’s half full instead of half empty.”

 

All he got was another glare; the man shook his head and lurked away. “Wait, don’t leave!”

 

Jack jumped over to the tall man, “Seriously though, lighten up a bit. No one likes a pessimistic.”

 

Snorting, Pitch threw back sarcastically, “Terribly sorry, Frost. I’ll try to remember that next time.”

 

“Good, good!” Jack grinned. He was having a lot of fun bugging on the Nightmare King, he was surprised to find that Pitch was rather fun to be around when he wasn’t trying to destroy the Guardians and take over the world.

 

“Leave me be now,” commanded Pitch, waving a wrist as if shooing the boy away.

 

“Aww, you can’t say you want me gone already! Not that long ago you wanted to be friends remember?”

 

“That was then,” snarled Pitch, “you rejected my offer and it no longer stands in any way.”

 

“Well crossing out the whole turning evil part I wouldn’t mind hanging around for a while.”

 

He winced when he saw the look Pitch gave him; he looked like he absolutely wanted to kill him right now. “Well I do mind. I don’t want anything to do with your _fun_.”

 

An idea flickered through the boy’s head, he couldn’t hide the crooked smile as he mustered out, “Oh not even a little bit?”

 

“ _No_.”

 

He waved his staff, letting a few snowflakes float towards the man. Pitch scowled and waved them away, a few managed to touch his cheeks; nothing happened other than him giving him the evil eye. Jack didn’t give up, “C’mon! Have you ever had a snow day before?”

 

A thin layer of snow was formed and covered every inch of the Pitch’s layer, burying the darkness under a bright white. This did not amuse Pitch at all. “Undo this!” He demanded hotly, “Right now!”

 

“Why can’t we have fun, Pitch? We could be friends, I could help you if you want.” Jack smiled, finding it humorous to see the man’s usually pale face slowly turn pink to purple in fury.

 

“So help me Jack—,“ he started warningly.

 

The winter spirit shook his staff again, sending more magical snowflakes at the Boogeyman. Usually it worked, he wondered why his snowflakes weren’t helping? They always made people laugh and become abnormally playful. Pitch must be immune. This did not please Jack.

 

Shaking his head from the sparkly cold snow, Pitch lunged at Jack. The boy stumbled backwards as a reflex and held his staff out before him protectively. “Hey, Pitch—“

 

Long fingers met wood; Jack’s confusion and attempt to send more snowflakes caused a bright light to form between the two. The boy heard the other gasp, as if cold water had been dumped over him; he gripped his staff tighter, shielding his eyes with the other hand while willing the strange brightness to go away. After a few moments he felt a weight lift from the staff and fell backwards a few steps. When he opened his eyes again the light had gone, it was a little colder—but honestly that just made it more comfortable for him. But Pitch was no longer in front of him. He glanced from side to side. Where’d he go?

 

A sneeze answered him. The boy looked down. There, sitting in the snow where he had fallen was Pitch. Only he wasn’t Pitch.

 

He was a young boy. He looked like a really pale teenager with spiky hair. No wait, this _was_ Pitch. Pitch was a kid!

 

Wide golden eyes looked up at him baffled; Jack stared back down at him with shocked blues. Then he laughed, he laughed so hard he had to lean on his staff for support and wipe his eyes of tears. The boy before him scrambled to his feet, looking at himself the best he could in mixed horror and rage.

“What. Did. You. Do. Jack? _Jack_!”


	2. Boy-Band Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Now you can visit Kid!Pitch on tumblr! Go bug him! http://kid-pitch-black.tumblr.com/

“I have no clue!” Jack howled with laughter, he didn’t even know he could _do_ that! Who knew he had the ability to turn others into kids? This was a hoot! Well, he thought it was anyways. For the Nightmare King on the other hand, it was anything but.

 

“ _Jack Frost_. Fix this, now!” the furious boy demanded. Somehow it just wasn’t as intimidating as it was supposed to be. Jack managed to get himself under control before answering the pale kid.

 

“Uh, sure let me try.” He focused, shifting his grip on the staff as he imagined a normal-sized Pitch. He realized it wasn’t going anywhere, so he opted for just letting his staff fall on the boy’s head. Pitch yelped at that and hopped back a step, rubbing his forehead gently.

 

“What did you think you could possibly gain by doing that?” he snapped, eyes smoldering with golden fire.

 

Shrugging, Jack replied nonchalantly, “I dunno.”

 

Letting out an aggravated growl the young Pitch paced in front of the winter sprite. “First you barge into my domain, you make it absolutely freezing, then on top it all you did… did… _this_!” He waved at himself as if to make a point before continuing his sulking again.

 

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing y’know.” Jack offered with a smile, “You look kinda cuter this way.”

 

“I’m not cute.” Pitch deadpanned.

 

“Well you weren’t _before_ ,” he said before sliding over to the boy. It was surprising actually, while a normal Pitch was heads taller than Jack, he was now shorter than him! If Jack was in the body of an eighteen year old Pitch was easily that of sixteen. The white-haired boy grabbed an arm, dragging the other along.

 

“C’mon, maybe if you have some fun it’ll wear off.”

 

“You’re confirming you have no clue what you are doing.” Pitch replied grumpily, allowing himself to be guided away.

 

“Aw turn that frown upside down; you’ll give yourself worry lines.” Jack teased.

 

Jack was just about to call the wind to aid him to the top of the tunnels when Pitch dug his heels in, grabbing on to a wall to stop the boy from pulling him anymore. “Stop, no no no, Jack stop.”

 

Giving the spiky-haired boy an odd look, he stopped. Dropping his arm before asking, “What’s the problem now?”

 

“I can’t go out.”

 

Jack waited for further explanation, tilting his head expectantly.

 

“Oh you truly are an idiot aren’t you?” Pitch seethed before continuing, “Ever since I was _banished_ , I haven’t been strong enough to go out into daylight.”

 

“Oh,” Jack replied stupidly.

 

“Sucks when no one believes in you,” he added, “You’d know the feeling but then again, who cares about the Nightmare King?”

 

“Well I wouldn’t say King.” The boy corrected.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“More like a prince now, you’re too young to be king I’d say.”

 

Rolling his eyes, the pale boy glowered, “I’d rather you leave now than continue mocking me even further.”

 

Jack took a step closer, “Pitch, I’m not trying to make fun of you. I’m just trying to help.”

 

“Well you’re not!” Pitch shouted.

 

“Sorry,” the Guardian replied, putting his hands up as if surrendering. “I’ll leave, ok?”

 

With that he was flying up the tunnel, back to the outside world. Pitch blinked, he hadn’t actually expected him to go. The thin boy stood there for a moment, in the thin snow and alone. He didn’t know what to do. So like any kid would he leaned on a wall and slid down. Letting his arms rest on his knees he hid his face and thought in the darkness.

 

 

 

 

 

Jack was flying on the wind as he went over the town. The sun was rising, spreading brightness across the sky. Sunset wouldn’t come for hours, and bring with it the darkness Pitch needed to explore. Time to spread belief.

 

He let a gust of snowflakes swarm to the town. A few kids were already out, ready to play on an early Saturday morning. They giggled and pranced in the snow; a few of them saw Jack and called him over to play with them. He didn’t hesitate to join them, he landed beside two younger boys, a girl threw a snowball at him but he dodged it easily.

 

“Hey there kiddos!” He greeted with a grin.

 

“Jack!” The girl squealed, running up to him with a giggle. He swung her around in the air for a moment before putting her down. “Being good? Don’t want to get on Santa’s naughty list so close to Christmas do we?”

 

Shaking their heads, the kids said cheerfully, “Of course! We’ve been extra good this year!”

 

 

 

 

The day went by quickly as he played with the kids; he waved them off as they left for home finally. He had told them while playing that coal wasn’t the only thing to worry about if they were naughty. The Boogeyman might just pay a visit to them if they weren’t good! He felt a little bad after seeing their eyes go big, but he reassured them that as long as they stayed on the Nice List they’d be safe. Soon after they forgot to be scared and enjoyed wrestling in the snow.

 

As the sun was going down, dark orange and purple filled the sky. He glanced at a familiar house, Jamie had just walked into his room; he could see him from the window. The boy gave the winter spirit a cheerful wave, opening his window. Jack grinned, he loved that kid, and he would always remember his first believer. The white-haired sprite had to stop himself from flying over to him right away. Holding up a finger, he silently told the teen _wait a minute_.

 

Giving a nod, Jamie watched the Guardian disappear as he rode the wind.

 

 

 

“Hey Pitch!” Jack yelled as he entered the liar of shadows. Looking around, he saw the boy sitting by a corner with his forehead resting on crossed arms. When he walked over, he realized Pitch was asleep. He crouched beside him, unsure what to do now. He didn’t have to wait long before the pale kid stirred. When he looked up, his eyes were still bleary with slumber and took a few moments before focusing.

 

“Hey,” Jack said a little softer.

 

“Where you watching me?” Pitch asked flatly, rubbing an eye tiredly.

 

“Only for a few minutes.” He admitted with a grin.

 

Shaking his head, Pitch stretched his stiff legs and let out a small yawn. “What do you want now?”

 

“I was waiting to get you.” Jack started, “It’s almost nighttime, plenty of shadows out, and I even told a few kids about you. Well, the old you anyways.”

 

Pitch gave him an odd look, remaining silent as Jack stood up suddenly. “Let’s go now!”

 

The spikey haired boy accepted the hand Jack offered and rose to his feet. “Where are we going?”

 

Winking, the boy replied, “To a special kid’s house.”

 

“Are we going to scare him?” Pitch asked, eyes lighting up with excitement.

 

“No!” Jack shook his head, landing a light punch on the other’s shoulder.

 

Pitch huffed, but followed Jack out from his shadowy kingdom. While Jack flew—slowly—on the wind’s breeze, Pitch followed by slinking in shadows that gave him plenty of cover before the sun completely set. After a few minutes they reached Jamie’s roof, Jack hopped in right away; Pitch on the other hand hesitated and opted for just waiting outside the window frame with an unsure expression.

 

“Jack!” Jamie exclaimed, happy as always to see the Guardian.

 

“Hey Jamie,” Jack smiled, “Whatchya been up to kid?”

 

They were now the same height, Jamie had definitely grown quite a bit since Pitch last saw him. Jack caught Pitch’s eye and nodded for him to join them. Pitch just shook his head silently, he’d rather not. He didn’t’ want to be in the same presence as the same child whom he saw lose his belief in him before his very eyes. Jack impatiently jerked his head, beckoning him to come in. Pitch crossed his arms defiantly, “No.”

 

Jamie looked at Jack confused, glancing between him and his empty windowsill. “Uh, everything alright?”

 

Jack glanced back at him, “Sorry, I brought someone with me—but if he actually came in and _introduced_ himself…” He looked pointedly at Pitch.

Jamie waited awkwardly in silence as Jack answered to his invisible conversation, “Oh c’mon! How do you know? You haven’t even tried yet! No, don’t give me that, I—Pitch! Would you just—“

 

“Wait, did you say Pitch?” Jamie interrupted. He hadn’t forgotten the last time the Nightmare King had shown up, he also hadn’t forgotten how the Guardians all joined forces and protected them.

 

“Uh, kinda.” Jack said hesitantly, “Well, not really. Maybe if you met him you’d understand better, but it’d be _a lot easier if he came in!_ ”

 

“What’s up with all the noise?” a girl asked, walking into the room in her pajamas.

 

“Sophie, what’d I tell you about barging into me room?” Jamie complained.

 

Sophie ignored him and jumped into Jack’s arms instead, “Jack! It’s been a while!”

 

Jack laughed, letting the girl hug him before hopping back a step. She still looked like the little girl when the Guardians last teamed up, her layered blond hair styled carefully, and her green eyes shining brightly. She kind of reminded him of Jamie when he was her age back when they defeated Pitch. Jack kneeled down to her height. “I know you believe in the Guardians still right?”

 

She nodded her head eagerly, “I lost another tooth, see!”

 

Jack nodded his head in amusement, “Yeah, I bet the Tooth Fairy left an extra shiny coin for you huh?”

 

Sophie beamed, glancing at her brother who smiled back as he leaned against his bed post.

 

“Well, you might not remember him, but what about Pitch Black?”

 

“Pitch?” She asked, she was so young the last time she saw him she probably had no recalling of him.

 

Jack continued carefully, “He’s the Boogeyman, he brings nightmares. But they never hurt you.”

 

Sophie gave him a look of confusion, “The Boogeyman’s not really real though, is he?”

 

Jack snuck a look back to the empty windowsill before answering, “Oh he’s very real, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let him getchya!” He raised an arm as if flexing a muscle, “Jack Frost here’ll keep you safe!”

 

Sophie giggled before asking, “So he brings nightmares then?”

 

Jack nodded and then leaned in to whisper softly, “Though he’d never admit it, he’s just a lonely guy.”

 

The girl’s eyes widened slightly, “Really?”

 

“I’d never lie to you would I?”

 

 

 

Pitch sighed; growing bitterly tired of waiting for Jack’s failing attempts to get children to believe in him.

 

“Jack, it’s not working.” He said, “I want to go.”

 

Only it wasn’t Jack’s deep blue eyes that turned to him, it was shocked green eyes that landed on him. He scrunched up his eyes, scooting over the other direction only to find them trailing after him. The boy shook his head in disbelief, staring at the girl staring at him.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” He started.

 

“No way!” Sophie squealed.

 

Jack turned to him, eyebrows raised as if to say: _Oh ya, I’m just that good_.

 

“He looks just like one of my boy band posters!” Sophie exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Sophie, Sophie, Sophie....  
> He looks just like one of my boy band posters too.  
> XD  
> Just kidding, oh goodness this just gets more and more fun as we go!


	3. It's ok to cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Now you can visit Kid!Pitch on tumblr! Go bug him! http://kid-pitch-black.tumblr.com/

With Sophie glomming all over the uncomfortable pale boy, it didn’t take long before Jamie saw him as well.

 

“There’s no way that’s Pitch Black.” Jamie said eyes wide as he gazed at the skinner teenager dressing in black cloak and spiked black hair.

 

“Well he is,” Jack said just as Pitch quickly answered, “I’m not.”

 

Jack gave Pitch a questioning look but the other avoided his eyes. Was he…embarrassed? Oh this was just too much! Jack wanted so badly to snicker at him, but he controlled himself as he prepared the lie he was about to tell to the boy.

 

“I mean, kinda.” Jack explained, “He’s uh, like his son or something.”

 

Jamie glanced between the nightmare… prince? and his sister unsure. “Why’d you call him Pitch then?”

 

“’Cause he’s Jr. of course!” Jack crowed, he then whispered as if secretly with eyebrows waving, “Sometimes we call him PJ—for Pitch Jr—but he really, _really_ doesn’t like that.”

 

Pitch’s eye almost looked like it twitched before he fumed, “Do _not_ call me that ever again, Jack Frost.”

 

“Someday he’s gonna take up daddy’s job,” Jack continued, having way too much fun with this, “but it doesn’t help that nobody believes in him.”

 

“Well of course nobody believes in him, no offense,” Jamie said, glancing at Pitch. “you guys defeated the Boogeyman years ago, we don’t need to fear anymore!”

 

Jack shook his head, “Ah, that’s where things get iffy. See without fear there’s no balance.”

 

Jamie slowly nodded his head, “I see… but still.”

 

Shrugging his shoulders, Jack took the moment to grab Pitch and drag him into the room, squirming and all. Sophie merely beamed and stood rather closely to him.

 

“He’s a little shy,” Jack said warmly, putting an arm over his shoulders. Pitch growled under his breath and glared at the winter spirit.

 

Jamie didn’t know why, but he found it amusing to see the two spirits bickering and fighting awkwardness. They stayed a while longer; Pitch even answered a few questions after a moment of hesitation. When Jack announced they had to leave so the two kids could get some sleep, Sophie moaned in protest.

 

“We’ll be back,” Jack promised, then jabbed a thumb at Pitch, “And make sure you check under your bed for this guy before going to sleep every night, alright?”

 

Sophie nodded with a giggle; she grabbed the pale boy’s hand and said, “Bye Pitch, I can’t wait ‘til the next time we meet!”

 

She skipped off to her own room; Jamie shook his head and grinned at Jack. “See you later Jack… and you too, Pitch.”

 

When the two spirits left, the night had definitely come, the moon was shining brightly above them. Pitch scowled at it before following Jack back to the forest. “What did doing that accomplish for you?”

 

Jack grinned, grabbing his hands. “Well now you have at least two believers. And they aren’t totally scared enough to really fear you either. Soon enough you’ll be able to walk around in the day.”

 

Pitch stared at the other hands holding his, but Jack didn’t let go. He sighed, “I still don’t know how that benefited you.”

 

Jack tilted his head, “I dunno either. But didn’t that make you happy? Even just a little bit?”

 

Happy blue eyes met his own wide gold eyes before he feverishly looked away. He thought about it and realized that it _had_ made him feel better; after a few moments of silence he finally mumbled, “I suppose.”

 

 “Great!” Jack whooped, dropping his hands—leaving Pitch to oddly enough miss the cold fingers holding on to his. “You don’t hate me as much anymore do you now?”

 

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Pitch replied with a snicker, rubbing his hands a little.

 

“Hey! C’mon you have to admit you have to like me a little bit more now!” Jack protested.

 

“No, no I don’t.”

 

He didn’t expect a flurry of snow to be dumped over his head, he gasped from the sharp coldness before glancing up at the laughing frost sprite. “How about now?”

 

Pitch smirked, two could play at this game.

 

Jack certainly got a surprise as well when Pitch had disappeared into the shadows and then reappeared behind him, only to sneak a bunch of snow down his hoodie. Jack jumped up, clawing at his back and chanting like a silly goon, “Ah-down my back, down my back!”

 

Pitch laughed at that, he actually let out a genuine laugh and Jack had to pause for a moment to listen to it. He smiled before pelting the other boy with snowballs. Pitch and Jack played in the snow for a while, making it a competition to see who could coat the other with more snow. Jack glanced up to see gold streams of sand beginning to float towards the town, at that same moment Pitch saw it too and instantly his grin turned into a scowl.

 

Jack didn’t mean to catch the Sandman’s eye as he was flying by, he really didn’t. He also didn’t mean to let him see a familiar dark figure beside him. Nor did he mean for his friend to come towards them with a slight look of alarm on his face.

 

Pitch froze, eyes going wide like a deer in headlights before Jack shook his shoulder. “Hey, it’s ok. It’s just Sandy.”

 

The boy stared at him, shaking his head slowly before backing away into the shadows. Jack took a step towards him, “Wait, no, don’t go yet.”

 

Sandy was already beside him though when he looked back. The little man waved a hand at him and then glanced over boy curiously into the shadows where Pitch was before. A question mark floated over his head as he pointed at the empty spot next to him.

 

“Yeah,” Jack answered, rubbing a hand behind his head. “That was Pitch.”

 

Sandy’s eyes got wide before an image of the evil Pitch formed above his head. He opened his arms and then brought them closer to each other, the golden sand figure growing shorter. Jack nodded again sheepishly, “I kinda did that. I don’t know how though.”

 

Sandy stared at him seriously for a moment before silently giggling. Jack looked back where the other boy had disappeared, wondering where he went.

 

“Sorry, Sandy. I’ve gotta find him.” He waved at the man before adding, “I’ll talk to you later, ‘kay?”

 

The Sandman didn’t follow him, but as he watched the boy run after the darkness he couldn’t help but feel a seed of worry begin to grow in his belly. He decided he’d go tell the others soon enough of Pitch’s current… condition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While he was looking, Jack stumbled upon a campfire. It was just a few kids sitting by the fire, they were telling stories. He realized they were probably only going to stay for an hour or two longer because there was a house nearby and it was way too cold to actually go camping. They were all teenagers; two of the five looked up when he came to them. They gave him knowing smiles but kept quiet because the other three no longer believed. He sat by one of them, he felt her hand rest on his as she gave a small wink and continued listening to her friends.

 

By the sounds of it, they were finishing a scary story. “And they were never… seen… again…” The one standing up whispered ominously. The others laughed; he was too dramatic and left the story like that.

 

“Man, Billy. You suck at story telling.” One of them jibed. “No way!” the one named Billy protested. “Didn’t you hear those creepy noises during that one part? And what about those spooky shadows? _Oooohh_ , the Slenderman’s gonna getchya!”

 

“Well there _was_ that one shadow,” the girl beside Jack admitted, “it kinda looked like Slenderman.”

 

“Stop it!” one of the other girls shivered, “You guys are sick, he’s worse than the Boogeyman!”

 

Jack squinted at her, although she couldn’t see him. Worse than the Boogeyman? No way! He’d never even heard of this ‘Slenderman’ guy before, the Nightmare King was definitely scarier than some skinny dude.

 

“Stop being a wuss, Katie.” Billy chided with a smirk, “The Boogeyman’s a washout anyways. No one believes in that crap anymore!”

 

“I guess…” Katie muttered, looking into the flames. The girl beside Jack saw his expression and chipped in, “Well maybe he is real? I mean he used to scare us all when we were younger?”

 

The other boy who saw Jack snickered, “Aw, come on. You can’t be serious!”

 

Katie nodded her head, “Leah’s right, I used to be scared of the Boogeyman as a kid. My little brother came home today talking about him too!”

 

Billy rolled his eyes, “Well if he’s really out there,” he shouted into the air boldly, “ _I’d like to see him try to scare me! I’m not scared of anything!_ ”

 

Jack sighed; the teenager was obviously high off hormones, trying way too hard to impress some girls. Just then he saw a branch crack down from a tree and land in the flames. The fire danced and a few sparks flew, the shadows from the embers played and danced against the snowy ground. The shadows looked like a fearsome tall man with sharp teeth and glowing eyes, the teenagers saw this and froze, but the shadow disappeared as soon as it had come.

 

The boys were the first to give shaky laughs, following them the girls gave small giggles. “Woah, did you see that?!” Billy laughed.

 

“That was crazy,” the other boy exclaimed, one of the girls grinned. “That was so funny! You should’ve seen your faces!”

 

Jack was glad to see the teens laugh it off, but something else gnawed at him as he saw the shadows ebb away and retreat. He got up and waved at the two who could see him before leaving. Everywhere he looked he saw the shadows stuck closely to their owners, oddly enough.

 

Walking around a bit more, he heard something too soft to decipher. “Pitch? You out there?”

 

The shadows around him swayed, moving towards a closer nit of trees. He followed closely after them, realizing it got darker the more he went.

 

Finally he came to where a cluster of shadows were coming from; their inky black origin hiding whatever was further on. He walked cautiously, using his staff to step before him just in case. The winter spirit heard the same noise from earlier, only it was closer and easier to tell. It sounded like… a sniffle? He shook his staff, sending light snowflakes around him to chase away some of the darkness. A few shadows left, allowing him to see in front of his two feet again. Before him he saw foot prints in the snow, so he decided to follow them.

 

After about a minute he saw the footsteps go to a tree root, and then the steps turned into smears rather than footprints. Right after the pile of messed up snow was a boy crouched with his head low. His back was facing Jack, but he recognized the black cloak and spiky hair right away and came over to him. “Pitch! There you are—“

 

He was interrupted as the boy yelled, “ _Leave me alone!_ ” His voice slightly broke near the end; Jack didn’t have to see his face to tell that the teen was crying. It really surprised him, and he froze in his tracks, unsure what to do. Pitch, the King of Nightmares, was crying. He just didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d let it all out in a bawl though… Then again, he was a kid now. Children—including teenagers—did tend to have a harder time controlling their emotions.

 

“I’ll never be believed in; they all _mock_ my entire being!” Pitch went on, not even bothering to try and correct his voice that revealed despair. Jack couldn’t help but feel a heavy weight in his stomach as he willed his feet to keep moving towards him. He kneeled in front of the pale boy, taking in his exposed helplessness. Pitch’s shoulders trembled and hot tears slid down his cheeks as he stared at the ground.

 

“Hey, it’s alright.” Jack cooed gently, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “I’ve got you now.”

 

Pitch finally looked up at him, face screwed up and trying to control himself. He roughly wiped at an eye, Jack noticed a faint flush of color creeping up along his pale face. Unable to take anymore, Jack pulled him closer, hugging the other boy. Pitch stiffened, but ended swallowing and relaxing into the hold. “It’s not fair.” He sobbed, bringing his arms around the cold boy.

 

Jack held him like that for a while, whispering and soothing while he let the young Pitch cry it out. Everyone needed this sometimes, especially children. It makes it better to cry out your frustrations and fear, to let it all out. Pitch was certainly no exception.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these chapters are literally WRITING THEMSELVES  
> Hands!  
> What are you doing?!
> 
> fffff whatever it is keep it up!  
> <3


	4. A Doll is a Doll either way... Isn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Now you can visit Kid!Pitch on tumblr! Go bug him! http://kid-pitch-black.tumblr.com/

Jack had held Pitch until he’d calmed down, by then he hadn’t noticed the blanket of shadows swallowing them. First Jack jumped at this, but then he forced himself to relax for the other’s sake. They were carried down back to the liar of darkness; gently the fearlings dropped them to a hidden chamber and left silently. Pitch avoided eye-contact with the boy, instead getting up to walk further into the room. It was darker than the others, but there were no fearlings to be seen here. Jack looked around to find no hanging cages or sharp points dangling from the ceiling. Instead he saw deep purples and dark shades of bedding, silk of course—nothing less for the Nightmare King himself.

 

Jack watched as Pitch stood there, back facing him and slowly giving in to fatigue; in a small voice, the winter boy could hardly hear: “Thank you.”

 

“What was that?” Jack asked with a small smile forming.

 

“Nothing.” Pitch muttered, sinking down.

 

So the boy sat there, with a sly grin. He was happy that he was making progress with Pitch, and that slowly he was letting him in. For Christ’s sake he had let him into him bedroom! Well, at least he thought this was something of a bedroom. Granted there was no actual bed, it was just made of sheets and fabric soft to the touch and beautifully crafted.

 

Finally Pitch whispered, “Stay, leave, I do not care.”

 

Jack took that as invitation to lie down beside him, backs touching. He knew that the teen did care, and he also knew that he didn’t want to be alone. Jack lay there in silence until he heard Pitch’s breathing slow and become a calming rhythm. He was asleep. The boy took the opportunity to roll over; he sat himself up and looked down at the kid.

 

It was still hard to believe that he had done this to Pitch. All he felt now was sympathy for him; Jack hadn’t realized how much the Nightmare King had pained and grievously lived. He remembered not too long ago how strong he had been, and had offered for Jack to join him. At the time, he too had felt terribly alone and had nearly accepted. But he never thought about how Pitch had felt afterwards.

 

Pitch looked young now, but he seemed even more so when he was asleep. The dark shadows around his eyes smoothed, and he looked bliss. Jack wished he’d look like this more often instead of his usual grouchy self. He winced at this thought, because he knew why he was always in a foul mood. Jack sighed, all Pitch needed was a friend. And he was willing to be just that, Jack had gotten him into this mess, and he’d be with him every step of the way. Lying back down, he wrapped an arm around the boy’s slender figure. Pitch sighed in his sleep, shifting closer. Jack had to hold back the quiet snicker bubbling at his throat, instead closing his eyes and willing sleep to come.

 

 

 

 

 

Jack began to wake when Pitch rolled away from his grasp. He yawned, stretching his arms and moved to lie on his back. Cracking a blue eye open, he peeked beside him. Pitch was sitting up, gripping his arms tightly and twitched. “Sleep okay?” Jack mumbled.

 

“For the most part,” Pitch replied with clenched teeth, turning to look at him. “You’re freezing.”

 

“Are you shivering?” Jack asked with a grin, propping himself up with an elbow. He couldn’t help but stare in amusement at the boy trembling with cold. The white haired boy felt a little bad, but he shoved aside the worry seeing as Pitch wasn’t chewing him out. Yet.

 

Shaking his head, Pitch asked hesitantly, “You stayed. Why?”

 

Jack shrugged his shoulders, “You looked like you needed company.”

 

Scowling, the shadowy boy looked away. “Last night.”

 

Even though that was all he said, a short statement, Jack understood Pitch was still upset. Whether it was about the kids, or about his own reaction, he didn’t know.

 

“It’s ok,” Jack said, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t shrug away. “We all need to break down sometimes. It’s human.”

 

“We’re not _human_ , Jack.” Pitch argued with a frown, “I’m not like you all, I’m not like you.”

 

“What? Coming from the guy who tried to get me to join the dark side?” Jack joked, “C’mon, we’re not all that different.”

 

Pitch just looked away again. Jack was shocked at that. Why couldn’t he look at him? What was it? Was he just embarrassed or did he truly think they weren’t alike at all? Jack wished that he could read what was on the Boogeyman’s mind, but luck just wasn’t on his side.

 

“Pitch? C’mooooon,” he whined, “look at me?”

 

Pitch just shook his head darkly, his eyes shaded. Jack frowned, playing stubborn? What was with him? Usually the prince would be ranting or threatening, but never stayed this stony before. The silence was killing him!

 

In one swift motion Jack jumped to face Pitch, he grabbed the sides of his face and thrust their foreheads together. They both winced at the sudden head bash, but Jack whispered with big blue eyes and serious face, “ _Loooooooook at meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee._ ”

 

Pitch stared at him with hesitant gold eyes. Jack was waiting for a laugh or anything really from his silly-tactics. He was just trying to get the boy to talk to him. But he was startled at what he saw instead. With golden eyes that flitted to silver in the shadows, the usually pale face of Pitch felt hot against his cold fingers. Jack stared into his eyes, and Pitch stared back. Very light, hardly visible unless their noses were barely touching and nearly going cross-eyes just trying to stare so closely, there was a pinkish flush forming on Pitch’s cheeks.

Needless to say Jack let go of him instantly, as if burned or stricken. He gazed at Pitch curiously, something was definitely off. The pale boy just stared back blankly; slowly he said quietly, “I am looking at you. Are you pleased?”

 

Jack was expecting a harsher reply, something with bite in it. But what he said held no malice, it was genuine. “Uh,” he breathed, “Yeah, I guess.”

 

The two just stood there awkwardly in the silence until a few fearlings crept in, curious of their master’s sudden change. They retreated just as quickly when he began to walk towards the entrance. Jack followed closely; it wasn’t that long ago he’d gotten lost down here looking for the Nightmare King, all the winding staircases and endless hallways were very confusing and never-ending. Pitch glanced behind him once to make sure the other boy was following, their eyes met and he turned back around quickly. This didn’t stop Jack from snatching his hand anyways; he let himself be led back to the great center of the dark kingdom. Pitch never pulled away, but he remained silent the whole time.

 

Jack found that they were back in the grand opening with tell-tale swinging cages and grey walls. Pitch was swept along by the shadows, letting their fingers slightly linger before letting go. Jack gazed at him were he stood, watching the Nightmare Prince disappear then reappear where a throne seemed to materialize.

 

“Leave now,” Pitch commanded, eyes drooping as if bored. “It’s daylight now, you have a job. Anyways, by now your fellow Gaurdians will begin to wonder where you’ve been.”

 

Jack shrugged, remembering how Sandy had seen them just last night. He wondered if the little man had already alerted the others. He didn’t fault him for doing it; the boy was just worried how much time he had.

 

“Alright.” Jack said finally, rubbing his neck. “But I’ll be back tonight. I promise.”

 

“Fine.” Pitch replied drearily, resting his cheek against a pale hand.

 

He obviously wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Jack glanced back one more time before leaving the tunnels for good. He was greeted outside with bright sunlight and a cool wind. Grateful of the breeze, the frost spirit jumped along it—allowing it to guide him to the one place he had in mind.

 

The North Pole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boy landed outside by the tunnels where North had his reindeer exit. He followed the twisting ice tunnels before he finally reached the sleigh’s dock. He was greeted by three yetis; one particular one glared at him and smacked a fist against his other hand, paw, thingy.

 

“Hey, Phil.” Jack grinned, strolling right up to them. He stood on his tippy-toes and tried to look behind their shoulders. “C’mon guys, I gotta talk to the big guy. Serious business.”

 

The yetis gave him a frown and then looked at each other before grumbling and stepping aside. Jack slipped inside quickly before they could change their minds. He skipped along, freezing the occasional elf that almost got tripped on. He reached North’s main room where he worked on special toys and knocked two sharp raps on the door. He heard a “Very good, very good! You are learning, yes?”

 

When the door swung open the big man hadn’t expected Jack. “Oh, Jack! I hadn’t expected you; I thought you were a yeti.” He sighed, “Pity, I thought maybe one of them remembered to knock. Oh well! Come in, come in!”

 

Jack was ushered in and North closed the door silently behind them. Before Jack could begin, the Russian gave him a serious look and began to speak gravely.

 

“Now, Jack. I know why you have come here. Sandy has told us of your… eh, predicament?”

 

“Predicament?” Jack echoed. “Uh, I mean…”

 

“Pitch is a child, no?” North blustered, grabbing the boy’s shoulders and moving him along. “You have done this… _magic_ , Jack. Magic of childhood, it is a gift. This may change Pitch, this might make him good, right?”

 

Feeling uncomfortable under the weight of the man’s hands, he shrugged away. “Gift? More like curse, the guy’s been stuck as a teenager for a few days now. I have no clue how to turn him back!”

 

Shaking his head, the big man turned to his toys again. “That is for him to find out. Not you. Anyways, this gives us time.”

 

“Time for what?” Jack asked curiously, trying to see over his shoulder.

 

North held up a small doll, it was a painted wooden figure of a tall, slender man. He held a scowl, and his gold eyes shone darkly with tiny gems.

 

“We have time to change Pitch for good.” He whispered, moving a large meaty hand over the toy and hiding it from view. When he dropped his hand to reveal the toy, it now held a small smile, the malice in its eyes of gold disappeared and now shone brighter than before. Jack stared at it in fascination.

 

“But… to change Pitch? Wouldn’t that be wrong?” Jack murmured.

 

“Look closer,” North urged. “Pitch has not ever been happy man. Not truly happy. If we can bring him this, he may become something greater and shine with the rest of us!”

 

 Jack was starting to understand, but one thing was still bothering him. “He’s the _Boogeyman_ though, how is it even possible?”

 

Pitch Black was a nightmare, something nobody is fond of. If no child would like him, and he was not believed in, how in the world could he ever be happy? It was the sad truth, and even the winter spirit understood now why he was such a bitter, revenge-seeking man. When he thought about it more, he began to really dig deeper for the meaning of Fear. Nightmares are what we fear, and the only way to rid of them is to either face them, or acknowledge them.

 

The Russian man’s eye twinkled, giving Jack a firm hand shake, “Jack, we will find the answer together. Us Guardians do not give up!”

 

“In the meantime,” He continued, “You must continue visiting him. I fear that without you, he would not be able to go on.”

 

“What? What—what is that supposed to mean?” Jack spluttered a little heatedly.

 

Chuckling, North answered simply, “You still infuriate him, no? Without your tricks and playful jibes he’d still just be a miserable shadow!”

 

“Oh, uh… right.” Jack mumbled slightly embarrassed for jumping to conclusions.

 

At that moment, familiar waves of golden sand and magic twirled through the cracks of the door. North grinned and opened the door hastily to meet the Sandman right away.

 

“Sandy! What a pleasant surprise!”

 

Jack stood in the room awkwardly, giving the Sandman a small wave. Sandy met him equally with a sheepish smile. North ushered the little man in, offering eggnog which he gratefully accepted.

 

“I would have offered you some too,” North explained, “But this eggnog is very special, it is much stronger!”

 

Jack just shook his head; he didn’t even like eggnog that much anyways. “So, does anyone else know about our… little problem?”

 

North snorted at ‘little’, but Sandy nodded his head affirmatively while gulping down his third cup of eggnog. Jack rolled his shoulders, “Uh, am I expecting any angry visitors soon then?”

 

Sandy shook his head, explaining above his head in shapes: lips-zipped shut; hand out—stop, no wait; snowflake.

 

“As much sense that made, Sandy, I still don’t…“ Jack began confused.

 

North interrupted though, “He told others to wait, he knows Pitch is in good hands.”

 

“Oh.” The boy said stiffly. He looked around for a moment before saying, “So, uh, I guess I’ll go now… then?”

 

North didn’t stop him as he took a few steps towards the door, and Sandy waved cheerfully with his free hand—the other had a sixth cup of eggnog. Just as Jack was about to speed out, North called out, “Wait, wait, wait! Jack, I forgot to give you this!”

 

Jack whirled around to see the doll dangling in his face. Nearly going cross-eyed looking at it so close, he took a step back and gave the man a skeptical look. North tried to urge him to take it, but Jack wasn’t having it. Giving a huff, North explained further, “With the enchantment spell on it, it will show your, or rather Pitch’s, progress. It’s all in the eyes, see? The _eyes_ , Jack.”

 

Jack blinked, the eyes were dull. The man still looked like grumpy old Pitch. But he took it anyways, holding it carefully in his hands. North smiled, nodding his head in approval as he watched Jack take flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm going to take a short break after this chapter that way I can get more typed out~thus providing more posting in the near future!  
> So please bear with me~  
> Lovely fanart!  
> http://zaid-kun.deviantart.com/art/jack-and-pitch-345152683?ga_submit_new=10%253A1356654681&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1&ga_recent=1
> 
> I love this so much  
> eue


	5. Car accidents and Snow Hickeys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Now you can visit Kid!Pitch on tumblr! Go bug him! http://kid-pitch-black.tumblr.com/

The toy was small enough to fit in Jack’s jacket pocket without creating a lumpy bulge or anything like that from his stomach.

 

That’d be weird.

 

Anyways, he rode the winds and let a few snowdrifts rain down upon towns. Soon he wouldn’t be able to do this much longer, Spring was on its way sadly enough. But that didn’t stop the boy from sprinkling a few extra snowflakes here and there. He took his time coming back to Burgess; it was still daylight although the sun was beginning to come down. Jack glanced around swiftly, a little impatient to be done and visit Pitch once more. He spotted Sophie out in the street, playing with a few friends. Looks like they were playing street hockey—always a fun sport. Jack was tempted to join them, but decided to hang back a little in the end. He observed them as he came floating down, the boys and girls were slowly growing less and less. Some had to get home; all that remained in their game were four kids.

 

The puck was chucked pretty hard by a young boy, the others cheered him for such a hit and Sophie offered to go fetch it. It had flown almost to the edge of the street, right by the corner. The other kids were laughing a joking; Jack smirked from where he hid, any other day he would’ve played with them. From the corner of his eye Jack saw something glint silvery against the setting sun. He turned his head just in time to see a car round the corner too fast, sliding a little of the frost-bitten road.

 

It was heading straight towards Sophie, who looked up with puck in hand to see her reflection against the silver exterior of the vehicle. She opened her mouth to scream and Jack jumped up to race over to try to save her. He was too far; there was no possible way he’d make it in time though…

 

The car wobbled slightly, swerving as the driver tried to regain control.

 

“Sophie!” Jack screamed as the car was merely inches from the girl. What he saw next shocked him.

 

The girl was yanked backwards and swirled over to the side where she slid towards the kids again, a few shadows wrapped around her ankles. A loud _thunk!_ could be heard as the car flinched and slowed. The car finally managed to turn the other direction and sped away. The other children gathered around her, worried. Jack joined them too hurriedly.

 

She was fine, she hadn’t been hurt in any way, and the vehicle never touched her. Pushing back a bit of shaggy blonde hair from her face, she looked up. “Was that you, Jack?” She asked breathlessly.

 

The other kids jumped around him asking the same question excitedly, but Jack was more preoccupied peering around the corner where the car had swerved. “No…” he replied after a while slightly puzzled, “It wasn’t me.”

 

Note to self: go easier on the frost in the streets. He winced to himself before investigating the road again. Sophie got up and followed him, the other kids trailed after them. Sophie spoke up, “If it wasn’t you who saved me…”

But Jack had found what he was looking for. He stopped in front of a parked truck by the sidewalk. The boy kneeled down and saw a teen bundled in the shadows underneath the vehicle. Beady gold eyes glittered back at him.

 

“Pitch!” He exclaimed, reaching for him.

 

“ _Don’t touch me!_ ” the pale boy hissed with a glare.

 

It wasn’t long before all the kids were on their bellies ducking under the truck. A few of them saw him, others were lost. Sophie on the other hand shrieked, “Pitch! It was you! You saved me!”

 

“Yes,” Pitch drawled with narrowed eyes, “Well if you hadn’t been running around in the street it wouldn’t have been necessary.”

 

“Why don’t you come out?” the younger boy who had been the one to hit the puck asked curiously.

 

The teen rolled his eyes and ignored him, rolling to his back instead and staring at the bottom of the truck. A few of the kids tried to crawl under but Jack pulled them back good-humoredly. “C’mon, let’s not bother him okay? It’s getting late; you should get home soon anyways…”

 

A collective “Awwww” came from the children, but they obeyed and scampered off after a moment of hesitation. Sophie was the only one who remained now. She looked up at Jack unsure but then called to Pitch, “Thank you! Thank you, Pitch. I’ll never forget what you did!”

 

She sighed a little dreamily, saying something under her breathe about her own ‘Prince Charming’ before carefully checking the road and going home. Jack shook his head with a chuckle, looking under the truck again.

 

“They’re all gone now.” Jack said with a smile. He beamed at the other, who scowled in response. It was just such a surprise to find that the Boogeyman had saved a human child! Jack felt kinda proud in a way; he reached out towards the boy. Pitch made no movement, deftly ignoring him. Once cold fingers met his shoulder though, he shivered away. “I can’t go out.”

 

Jack frowned, “But you were out here just a moment ago!”

 

“That was for a split second, a reflex. Let me tell you it was not pleasant.” Pitch gruffly replied, scooting over even more under the truck. Jack stooped to a knee and rolled under with him, a spontaneous action that rewarded him with a squeak from the other boy. Well, maybe not a squeak… he’d never admit to that. But they lay side by side now on their backs, looking up at the bottom of the vehicle with mild interest. The truth was it rather smelled under there, gas and exhaust fumes. Jack couldn’t stop his nose from scrunching up and put a hand over his mouth saying, “Good lord…”

 

Pitch snickered at him before flicking a wrist, causing the shade they were in to swallow them whole. They grew darker, almost black and pulled the two boys under. Soon they were falling from the ceiling of the Nightmare Prince’s lair, though it didn’t hurt when they met contact with the stony floor. Pitch landed with the grace of a cat, quietly on his feet. Jack on the other hand wasn’t as prepared to be suddenly transported with no warning. Not since the last time with the whole Bunny and Yeti incident.

 

Landing on his butt, Jack grunted, “Ow-ow, a warning would have been nice!”

 

He looked up at the boy who wore an amused smirk on his face. “Sorry.”

 

Jumping to his feet, Jack twirled his staff before saying, “Hey that was really cool back there. What you did, I mean.”

 

Grimacing as if he were trying to hide something, Pitch snapped, “I already told you it was a reflex. It would do me no good to lose one of the few believers I have to be crushed by a car.”

 

Shit eating grin, Jack taunted, “Naw, admit it! Sophie’s grown onto you, being your first child and all.”

 

Fuming, Pitch merely rolled his eyes at the boy, unable to come up with a snarky response.

 

“I’m the same way with Jamie,” Jack continued, skipping around him once playfully, “I love that kid; he was the first to see me.”

 

Jack could’ve sworn he saw Pitch twitch at that, but it was small and hardly noticeable. “Oh, really now?”

 

A little unsure, Jack agreed, “Ya, he’s a good guy.”

 

The winter spirit didn’t know where the scowl suddenly came from, but Pitch had turned away. Before he could dwell on that further though, something caught his eye.

 

“Hey, wait a minute. What’s that?”

 

The pale boy paused for a moment before ignoring him and continuing on his way, only to be stopped by Jack. When he whipped around to snap at him again, he froze. Jack was nose to nose with him again, that’s twice now in one day where personal spaced seemed to be nonexistent. But that changed soon enough as Jack inspected him quickly.

 

“What now?” Pitch complained, attempting to take a step back.

 

“Are those _burns?_ ”

 

The Boogeyman looked away, it’s not like it mattered anyways. He had learned a very, very long time ago that once there were no believers he could not walk in the daylight. For very good reason too, he was the Shadow Lord, and the sun was indeed merciless. The little act he had done today, leaping out to a mortal, had not gone without a small price. And small it was; he was only out for 2 seconds at most! So his skin had gone puffy pink until he was under the safety of vehicle’s shade, where he became grey once more. But there were still remains of char on his neck and hands. It didn’t hurt, not now anyways.

 

But the look Jack was giving him as he stared and stared made his skin crawl.

 

“Yes,” Pitch replied slowly and deliberately as if speaking to a complete dolt. “This is why I cannot go outside.”

 

A pained look came to the boy’s face, and Pitch had to turn away holding back a snarl. He was not seeking pity and certainly did not to see the _sympathy_ on his enemy’s face. But Jack grabbed at his thin arm again, saying quickly, “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

 

Before Pitch could growl or throw an insult at him he was pulled into a tight hug. Oh, the look on his face! His eyes simply gleamed with murderous intent. A hug was definitely not what he had wanted. At all.

 

But then a wave of coolness washed over him, as if snowflakes had decided to wrap around his body. Jack mumbled in his ear, “I hope this helps a little bit, does it feel better?”

 

Numbly Pitch nodded, he was already healing fast as it is, but the frostiness produced from the winter sprite did progress things even further. What happened _next_ shocked him even more. Shifting his position, Jack kissed the other boy’s neck. This got a jerk from Pitch, gasping at the sudden icy touch. But Jack held tighter and said smoothly, “Calm down, I’m just trying to help.”

 

Reluctantly, Pitch relaxed his muscles and swallowed his pride as Jack continued to his collarbone. He was nipping at each specific burn mark where the skin had gone gristly black; with his touch the wounds became fair and paler. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the boy felt the sensation to be greatly relieving and wonderful. Finally Jack was finished with his top and grabbed the grey hands and kissed every blackened spot until they were chilled. He looked up, eyes twinkling with a smile as he rested his lips on the last wound.

 

Pitch would have gone red hadn’t he been nearly shivering from the cold, but with Jack looking up at him with his hand still in his, as if kissing royalty… It was just too much! So with blank eyes and mixed emotions racing through his head he stared at Jack baffled.

 

Putting his hand down, Jack took a small step back a laughed a little nervously. “Sorry, that was a little intimate. But I thought it’d speed things up a bit, y’know?” He rubbed his neck cheekily, simply emanating waves of boyish charm that he didn’t even know he had. Pitch cleared his throat, still lost for words. “Er, yes…. Well, I _do_ feel…”

 

He swallowed the rest of his sentence instead of continuing and spun his heel. Jack followed him silently as they continued on their way, and very quietly, hardly audible, he could’ve sworn he heard:  
  
“ _Thank you._ ”

 

 

 

 

 

Later that night when Pitch wasn’t looking, Jack pulled out the small doll-version of him. It was still dark and lifeless. But something did catch his attention, the eyes which were painted a rather dull color—almost brownish yellow had a tiny glint in them. North’s words echoed in his head, ‘ _It’s all in the eyes, see? The eyes, Jack._ ’

 

As soon as he heard a tiny movement he shoved the toy back in his pocket, just in time to see Pitch creeping through the doorway among the shadows. Something he’d probably never get used to seeing… Anyways he was instructed to wait in one of the many rooms, this one being plain with spikes hanging hazardously from the ceiling and a few dark silky cushions. Geez, why’d he need all these rooms anyways? Shoving the thought away his eyes drifted to what was in the young Pitch’s hands. It looked like a flattened square box of some sort.

 

“What’s that?” Jack started but Pitch ignored him, sitting down in front of him and placing it between the two. He opened it to reveal a gloomy chess set with a few black and grey pieces. No white, go figure. Each piece looks hand-crafted, not nearly as good as North’s, but unique and somewhat intense with each detail carved into them. “Chess.” Pitch replied matter-of-factly.

 

He raised an eyebrow, a silent question: _Do you even know what this is or how to play?_ Jack flared a little at that, of course he knew what chess was! He’d seen a few kids and even more elders play this game before, it didn’t look like much fun. But he wouldn’t know since he’d never played before himself.

 

“I know that,” Jack scoffed, studying a few of the pieces, “But I don’t know how to play.”

 

He marveled at the horse-shaped one. It looked strong and fierce with finely detailed etchings. It actually kinda looked like one of Pitch’s NightMares. With a tap of his finger the figure was covered in a layer of frost, turning it blue-white.

 

“That,” Pitch said flatly, “is a Knight. Please don’t freeze all the pieces, they’re antique.”

 

Of course Jack ignored this and promptly chilled each piece given to him until his set was icy with frosty designs swirling all over them. Pitch sighed but didn’t scold him, instead showing what each piece did and what it was called. After an hour of simple instructions, Jack felt confident that he could hold his own in a game against Pitch.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh how wrong he was. When Pitch tipped his king, Jack lost it and flipped the board with a flurry of snowflakes. When Pitch looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, the frost spirit grinned with that silly crooked smile of his and used the wind to catch the board before it clattered to the floor. The pieces on the other hand weren’t so lucky; they rolled and bounced around the two against the grey ground. Pitch glanced around him grateful that none chipped or shattered, but Jack was already prompting him, “So when can we play again?”

 

Jack was rewarded with a light-hearted chuckle from Pitch. He beamed even more, happy to see he was able to bring a smile to the usually gloomy boy. The spikey-haired boy stopped short confused though, Jack was about to ask what was the matter but he beat him to it, “Somebody’s in here. In my domain…”

 

Pitch got to his feet swiftly, the shadows were churning around him, whispering to him that someone had somehow broken through his barriers and snuck in. Jack jumped up as well, taking a step towards him. The Nightmare Prince sent his shadows forth to stall the intruder, but when he whirled around he had just enough time to see Jack step on a pawn and slip towards him. Giving a low, “ _eep!_ ” Pitch attempted to move out of the way but Jack had successfully tumbled atop him and sent them both crashing to the floor in a tangle of long legs and jabbing elbows.

 

“ _Watch yourself!_ ” Pitch hissed. Jack was about to send back a retort but a loud thumping stopped them both from bickering and sent their heads whirling towards the doorway.

 

There, towering over the two with a ruffled expression was the one and only E. Aster Bunnymund.

 

 

 

“ _Are those snow hickeys?!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness  
> Oh my goodness  
> Oh my goodness
> 
> XD
> 
> I had sooooooooo much fun with this chapter! First heroic Pitch, then suggestive Jack  
> muahahahah~  
> >:3
> 
>  
> 
> Thank y'all ever so much for the many comments and kudos<333  
> They truly make my day so much brighter whenever I read them!


	6. Hare-brained chase

 

The two boys could only gap with wide eyes at the intimidating rabbit, Jack atop Pitch by Bunny’s feet. Pitch snapped out of it first and instantly sank into the ground with his inky shadows.

 

“Oh-ho no,” Bunny snapped, bending down with a quick paw that snatched at his arm before he fully disappeared. Jack rolled to the side, but the Guardian snatched him up too. In a flash he had dragged both boys up, one begrudgingly hanging by an arm, the other by his hood sheepishly.

 

“Hey Bunny!” Jack exclaimed, “Fancy meeting you here…”

 

He trailed off at the look the rabbit gave him. Pitch scowled and jerked at his arm at an attempt for freedom.

 

“I came to see if the rumors were true, now.” Bunny explained roughly, shaking Pitch for good measure. Jack frowned. “But I mainly wanted to find out why you were hanging ‘round this lil’ bugger.”

 

He dropped Jack and lowered the young Pitch, but he kept a steely grip on his wrist. “It’s time for some explaining,” he ordered, jabbing a paw at the frost sprite.

 

“Alright, alright.” Jack waved him off, giving Pitch an awkward grin. “I accidentally did… this.”

 

“And?”

 

“And I need assistance returning to my normal state,” Pitch drawled with disgust. Bunny merely gave him a raised eyebrow, slightly surprised at the input. He also hadn’t expected the change in his vocal chords either; they were a little higher, younger of course. Still grudging though, this wasn’t all that surprising.

 

“Why do you think we’ll help you, uh?” Bunny grunted.

 

“Hey, hey, this is my fault.” Jack stepped up, slapping away the Pooka’s paw wrapped around the other boy’s arm. Pitch glanced at him but took a small step back rubbing his wrist like a delinquent might with released shackles. “I promised I’d fix this… somehow.”

 

The Guardian glared at Jack long and hard, green eyes impenetrable as he scrutinized the icy but determined blues of the frost spirit. Finally he gave in and let his shoulder’s relax a little, fur flattening smooth.

 

“Fine. But I don’t trust ‘im, nor you at the moment.” Bunny said, crossing his arms.

 

“After all we’ve been through?” Jack whined, leaning on the rabbit and clinging playfully. He easily forgave the Guardian, and just wanted things to lighten up a little. Idly, Pitch thought to himself, _He really is a simpleton…_

 

The nightmare boy remained withdrawn, observing the two bicker to themselves curiously until those hazel green eyes met his and he ducked away before being engaged in their conversation again.

 

“Where you think you’re goin’?” The rabbit demanded, causing Jack to glance back at Pitch.

 

“This is _my_ lair; I can come and go if I please.” He spat out. He grumbled something about rerouting the entrances and tunnels to himself under his breath, but Bunny was quick to follow.

 

“Aha no, you ain’t leaving my sight until-“

 

“Until what, exactly?” Pitch cut in, glaring at the Pooka. “Until I am at full power? Then what? You’ll lock me away again?”

 

This silenced the Guardian; he fumed at the boy with a deep frown and bunched eyebrows. Jack skipped up to them carefully, “Listen guys, this isn’t helping the situation…”

 

“Yer right,” Bunny gritted out, “We ought’a leave the brat the way he is.”

 

Pitch turned around, “ _Overgrown hare_ , you’re just as rotten as those pitiful eggs you throw about.”

 

“What was that?” Bunnymund snarled, grabbing the boy’s shoulder.

 

Oh no… Jack thought, _He insulted the eggs… not the eggs, anything but the eggs!_

 

“Take that back, ye heffer,” Bunny warned, for once keeping himself under control with steady but strained breaths.

 

“ _Make me._ ” Pitch replied simply, looking back at the rabbit with a crooked grin before sinking into his shadows. His eyes glowed golden and bright behind the curtain of darkness and disappearing completely. Bunny let out an aggravated grumble, paws in fists as he looked around angrily. Jack sighed, leaning on his recovered staff. “Oh, come on Bunny. You can’t let a jibe hit you so hard-“

 

A mischievous chuckle rang against the stone walls. Shadow puppets grew on the floor by their feet; little egg silhouettes being cracked and crumbling.

 

“Oh that’s it, I’m comin’ for ya now, lil’ devil…” The Guardian growled as he launched himself after the fading laughter. Jack sighed exasperated. “This isn’t helping at all!”

 

  The Pooka got lucky though and caught a glimpse of the young boy sliding into another corner of shadows. He sprung over, hitting the empty wall with his back paws and giving and aggravated grunt at his loss.

 

“You can’t catch what you can’t see, rabbit.” A dry giggle came.

 

“You wanna bet?” Bunny growled. “Never seen a rabbit run before have ye?”

 

“Run away, perhaps.” The voice was closer and Bunny lunged out, missing the boy by a hair’s length. He saw widened gold eyes before he faded into the darkness again.  
  
Bunny leapt forward, following the fleeting shadow. Jack was close behind, remaining silent other than the occasional chuckle here and there at the rabbit’s frustration and Pitch’s breathless taunts. Eventually they caught up with his figure; he was gliding on his gritty floors and using the darkness as transportation. What he did next, though, came as a surprise to the rabbit and he did a double take. Pitch turned around, still gliding with just as much speed as before, and stuck his tongue out. Just, stuck is little grey tongue out and gave him a snide look.

 

It was the most childish thing the Bunny had ever seen coming from Pitch and even stumbled on his own feet just thinking about it. Pitch threw his head back and gave a triumphant laugh before speeding up to leave the Bunny trailing further behind. Jack grinned, giving an amused giggle before evening the scores a little. Pointing his staff at the boy, he slung ice at the shadows—instantly sending frost over them to spread and freeze them in their place. Pitch made a weird hiccupped noise of surprise and had to scramble around on his feet to keep upright at the high speed he was going. His knees buckled and he gave a frustrated cry, “ _Jack I swear I’m going to—“_

 

Bunny gave a bark of laughter and sped up, catching the boy before he could fall and found his own feet sliding on the icy floor. He felt his paws slip and suddenly he was on his furry tail skidding along quickly with the young Pitch clutched at his chest. He let out a whoop of thrill, whiskers flat against his face from the wind. Jack had to use the ice himself as a board to keep up and followed after them with a grin on his face, he guided their ice until they came into a pile of mustered up snow. The two flew into the air for a moment, a small shout of… excitement? rose from the younger as they crashed into the frost. Jack slowed down and came to a stop, laughing at the two whose heads popped up from the snow.

 

One had an amused grin, the other snickering quietly to himself and shaking his black shoulders from the cold. Jack’s eyes shone, unable to hide his smirk. The two were still holding to one another, Pitch with his hands clutching the Pooka’s warm fur and Bunny gripping him closely.

 

Both of them seemed to notice at the same time, Pitch staring at him with startled eyes and Bunny giving his own smirk at the boy. He stood up, holding the young Pitch, he looked like he was about to say something when his ears twitched. Suddenly he dropped his paws and let the boy fall back into the snow with a disgruntled cry. Pitch puffed, blowing the snow out of his face and giving the rabbit a good-natured glare. Jack leaned against his staff, absolutely happy to see the two finally interacting without trying to kill each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After their chase Bunny decided to leave, giving Jack a warning and Pitch a punch on his shoulder.

 

“See ya ‘round boys.” And with that he was bounding away with his super speed through the tunnels.

 

“That’s it?” Pitch stated, patted the rest of the snow from his robe.

 

“What? Miss him already?” Jack teased, poking the boy’s chest.

 

“Hardly,” the other snorted, looking away. His eyes changed, glinting once then going exasperated. “Jack! Look at this! All the snow… Argh! It’ll take ages to melt…”

 

He looked around mumbling this and that to himself, but his eyes were still bright from the short adventure. Jack grinned broadly, unable to contain his thrill. When Pitch glanced back at him, his expression changed to that of puzzled.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” He grunted.

 

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong at all!”

 

“Then what’s wrong with your face? Looks like your cheeks are going to fall off if you keep smiling so much.”

 

“Hasn’t happened yet,” Jack argued with a chuckle.

 

Pitch rolled his eyes and turned away again, but the frost boy was able to catch the small upwards turn at the corner of his mouth before he couldn’t see.

 

“Hold up, wait, I just had an idea,” the boy chirped, jumping towards Pitch again.

 

“No more slides,” Pitch warned quickly.

 

“No not that! Wait a minute; you’re saying you didn’t enjoy that? I mean by the look on your face when you were clinging to Bunny in the air—“

 

“ _Jack,_ ” Pitch interrupted exasperated, “What was your idea?”

 

“Why don’t we visit Punjam Hy Loo?”

 

The look on the gray boy’s face was not a promising one, and Jack had to force himself to keep eye-contact with him.

 

“ _The Tooth Palace_?” He repeated with a scowl. He waved a wrist, “The place I invaded not too long ago and stole away all of the valuable _Memories_? Not to mention the fairies? Where the precious _Tooth Fairy_ abides, the Guardian who particularly despises me the most right about now?”

 

“Ok, I know it doesn’t sound good the way you put it,” Jack tried again, feeling a little hurt by his mocking tone. It was obvious Pitch wasn’t too keen on the idea… But honestly the only Guardians left where Tooth and Sandy that hadn’t seen his change. Maybe they could help?

 

“But I promise no funny business, Tooth is a good friend, she’ll understand.”

 

Pitch rolled his eyes, “ _Your_ friend. Remember? Who’s to say she won’t knock the rest of my teeth out, especially in this more vulnerable state?”

 

 Jack stood beside him, small smile, “You’re vulnerable now?”

 

“Oh, shut up.” Pitch sighed tempermentally.

 

“C’mon, it won’t take long to get there and it’s still dark outside; you remember the way don’t you?”

 

Pitch nodded a little grudgingly, not at all pleased. But then again, he was a hard boy to please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait!  
> ;w;  
> Life... ya that's all I've got...  
> Uhm, this one's mostly filler chapter~so it really killed me while writing it because it wasn't as important towards the plot really.  
> *Throws some fluff*  
> HOO HA! HAVE SOME BUNNY LUFFS!  
> and coming up next~Toothiana!  
> <3
> 
>  
> 
> I hope ya'll enjoy reading so far, if you get bored waiting for me to update with a new chapter just drop by Kid!Pitch's Tumblr!  
> http://kid-pitch-black.tumblr.com/
> 
> He just absolutely looooooves being bugged! >:3  
> So send him an ask, or whatever else really!  
> Thanks for reading so far~


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